FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Acoustic Image Bass Amp

Question:
I want to buy me a new bass amp to be used with a double bass, and particular for any kind of jazzy and bluesy music and for small gigs. up until now , the Hartke Kickback series ( 12 ) seems to me really interesting . some advice me to buy the Laney RBW200 version ( has a lower price than the Hartke ) but is it really better ? I saw also that Behringer BX1200 offers also a kickback version ( bx 1200 or somthing like that ) Can anyone provide me with really good advice , on which amp to buy . some additional requirements : appro 120 watt, lightweight , not to big , max 800 dollars xlr connection , not to many buttons .

Answer:
I play electric, but I'd give a listen to what Fender & SWR have. For electrics, SWR is considered one of the best (excluding very pricy top-end stuff). I seem to remember Eden being an acoustic favorite, but I'm less sure there. For the money, I really like the Fender Bassman series. I'm not personally familiar with the brands you mentioned. In my case, I had to shy away from some of the low-end brands (even SWR's starter LA series), because I crank-up the low EQ (bass). Galien Krueger stuff is supposed to be good, but the cheaper Galien Krueger backline amps are not so good by comparison. Small, cheap combo amps can't handle much bottom-end, and clip/rattle horribly. While I'm sure electric & acoustic needs differ, since you play an acoustic instrument, you probably have a more discriminating ear than I do. Distortion on the cheap amps would probably drive you nuts after a week! For $800, and only 120W, you should be in GREAT shape. I'm very, very happy with my Fender Bassman 200W, which I got for $500. One thing you probably should check-out is 10 speaker sound (punch) vs. 15 speaker (bottom) sound. 12 is supposed to be good too, but for some reason is not as common.